Daughter of the Regiment

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1 When: Where: July Press Release PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Opera Fort Collins Proudly ANNOUNCES: Daughter of the Regiment Sept :30 p.m. Sept :00 p.m. The Lincoln Center 417 West Magnolia. Fort Collins. Colorado Tickets* Season Packages $165. $130. $100 Purchase: Individual Tickets Season / All Individual Tickets Lincoln Center Box Office 417 W. Magnolia FC Web/Phone: $70. $50. $35. $20 (student) *Box office processing fees may apply Media Contact: Vicki Fogel Mykles Opera Fort Collins Executive Director mykles@operafortcollins.org Daughter of the Regiment Summary: Opera Fort Collins opens the 2012/2013 northern Colorado performing arts season with a brand new English-language version of Gaetano Donizetti s iconic comedy about the military vivandieres of the French 19th century, Daughter of the Regiment. This audience favorite is given new life by OFC Artistic Director Brian Clay Luedloff as he sets the opera during the American Civil War. Heroine Marie as a regimental camp follower who cooks meals, does laundry and raises the spirits of her brothers in arms. All is well until she falls in love with the enemy. But, even the bitter divide of a country at war can t dissuade true love. Working with Civil War historians and re-enactors to create an authentic American setting, this new adaptation keenly portrays the conflict that tore apart the nation. OFC is proud to premiere this classic opera in a new light for Colorado audiences. Sung in English. Opera length: two hours, thirty minutes. Featuring: Rose Sawvel James Baumgardner Marcia Ragonetti Thomas Erik Angerhoffer Kimberli Render Revere Taylor Jacob Thompson OFC Chorus FC Symphony Details: Friday. September :30 p.m. Sunday. September :00 p.m. 1/6

2 Cast BiOs Lyric coloratura soprano Rose Sawvel (Marie) discovered a passion for opera while earning her Bachelor s degree in psychology at the University of Northern Colorado. Choosing to pursue opera in her graduate studies, she completed her Master of Music degree in vocal performance at UNC under the guidance of Dr. Melissa Malde. Ms. Sawvel was a semi-finalist in the 2012 Irma M. Cooper Opera Columbus International Vocal Competition, Regional Finalist in the 2012 and 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, 2011 Denver Lyric Opera Guild competition finalist, finished first in the 2010 and 2006 District NATSAA, the 2007 Regional NATS Singer of the Year and first in the graduate women division and won the 2006 Rocky Mountain Competition. She is also the recipient of a Bel Canto Institute Performance Award, New York Opera Project Performance Award, a Denver Lyric Opera scholarship, the Joe Tennesen scholarship and the President s Leadership scholarship. Recent roles include Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance and the title character in Patience, La Fée in Cendrillon, Adina in the Elixir of Love, Blondie in PDQ Bach s The Abduction of Figaro, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Amy March in Little Women, Dew Fairy and Sandman in Hansel and Gretel, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Marenka in The Bartered Bride, Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Eustazio in Rinaldo. Opera Scenes roles include Cunegonde in Candide, Magda in La Rondine and Alice in Falstaff. Recent recital and collaborative performances include an Alumna recital at the University of Northern Colorado, the New York Opera Project recital in Manhattan, N.Y., the Bel Canto Performance Award recitals in Lake George and High Falls, N.Y., and Florence, Italy, and the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Recital for scholarship recipients. Ms. Sawvel attended the Scuola Leonardo da Vinci in Florence, Italy. She has been a young artist with Emerald City Opera Company s Artist Institute, The University of Northern Colorado s Summer Opera Tour with Opera Classica Europa, The Bel Canto Institute and Bel Canto Northwest. Over the past five years, she has performed in recitals, workshops, and master classes throughout Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the U.S. with music and drama specialists Jane Bakken Klaviter, David Chew, Dean Williamson, Garrie Davislim, Whit Kellogg, Vincenzo Taramelli, Roger Malouf, Keith Miller, David Malis, Caleb Harris, Brian Clay Luedloff, Fredrick Martell, Stephen Goldstein, and Ashley Putnam. Ms. Sawvel currently studies with Charmaine Coppom. 2/6

3 Tenor James Baumgardner (Tony) is excited to be back with Opera Fort Collins where he performed in small roles and choruses during his time at Colorado State University. Now living in New York, he has found success performing both on the East Coast and close to home in Colorado. Mr. Baumgardner recently completed successful performances of the Count Almaviva in Barber of Seville with Opera Theatre of the Rockies and his East Coast debut with the North Shore Music Festival. Past roles have included: Alfredo in La Traviata, George Gibbs in Our Town, Sam Kaplan in Street Scene, and Fenton in Falstaff. He has performed with Opera Colorado, Central City Opera, and as an apprentice singer for the Santa Fe Opera. He will make his New York City debut this fall as the Soldier in Opera Moderne s production of Der Kaiser von Atlantis. Mezzo soprano Marcia Ragonetti (Marquise) is recognized as one of the Rocky Mountain region s most celebrated artists and is hailed by critics as a perfectly splendid mezzo. She has been associated with Opera Colorado since its inception in 1982 having performed over 20 leading and featured roles (among these, Cherubino, Rosina, Cenerentola, Siebel, Mercedes) including singing in the gala inauguration of The Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Ms. Ragonetti has also appeared regularly with Central City Opera, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Opera Fort Collins, and summer music festivals in Vail, Boulder and Crested Butte, Boulder Philharmonic, Long Leaf Opera in North Carolina as well as with the San Antonio and Utah symphony orchestras. She made her international debut singing the Beggar Woman in the Italian premiere of Sondheim s musical thriller Sweeney Todd in four Emilia-Romagna opera houses. Most recently, she played the virtuoso speaking part of Maria Callas in Terrence McNally s Master Class presented at Miners Alley Playhouse in Golden, for which she earned a Best Diva 2012 award from Westword and a Denver Henry nomination for best actress in a play. Cabaret singing is also a passion and she has created and performed one-woman musical revues for the Cherokee Ranch & Castle, most notably George & Ira s Little Sister, an all- Gershwin program. Upcoming roles include Desiree in A Little Night Music with Opera Theatre of the Rockies and Gertrude in Romeo et Juliette in Opera Colorado s 30th anniversary season in Ms. Ragonetti can be heard in the recording of Honegger s King David on the Gothic label and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Cornell University with a master s degree in English literature and psycholinguistics. 3/6

4 Baritone Thomas Erik Angerhofer (Sgt. Sulpice) has been praised by audiences and critics throughout Europe and North America for over two decades. His compelling presence is matched by an equally persuasive voice. A powerful and sweet baritone, his versatility as a singing actor spans all major genres and periods, from the operas of Handel and Heggie to the music of Mozart and Mahler. Recent operatic appearances include Marcello in La Boheme, Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, and Joseph de Rocher in Dead Man Walking. Concert appearances include Orff s Carmina Burana, Beethoven s Symphony No. 9, and Mozart s Requiem. Favorite Musical Theater roles include Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, Cinderella s Prince/Wolf in Into the Woods, and Emile DeBecque in South Pacific. Mr. Angerhofer is currently a member of the Voice Faculty at the Metropolitan State College of Denver where he teaches studio voice and opera workshop. He has taught at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he is a Doctoral Candidate in Voice Performance and Pedagogy. A frequent guest artist and clinician, Mr. Angerhofer teaches a tai chi based movement workshop for singers entitled Internal Discipline and the Singer: Performing from the Core. Soprano Kimberli Render* (Hortense), a second year Opera Fort Collins Apprentice Artist, is pursuing her masters of Vocal Performance degree at Colorado State University under the direction of Dr. Tiffany Blake. Originally from Columbus, Georgia, she graduated from the Columbus State University s Schwob School of Music. Earning degrees in both Music Education and Vocal Performance, she studied voice with soprano and vocal pedagogue with Dr. Michelle DeBruyn. While there, she was afforded countless opportunities to sing for some of the most highly esteemed coaches, composers, and vocal artists such as Mark Hayes, Walter Huff, Martha Gerhart, and Laquita Mitchell. A highlight in Ms. Render s undergraduate career came the summer of 2009, when she was invited to participate in Si parla, si canta in Urbania, Italy, being coached by the highly regarded Benton Hess, Bob Cowart, and Hugh Murphy. This past summer, Ms. Render returned to Italy with Opera Orvieto to make her international debut singing the role of Donna Anna in Mozart s Don Giovanni. In the spring of 2012, she was honored with the first place award in the prestigious Denver Lyric Opera Guild competition, as well as scholarships from the Dante Alighieri and Allied Arts organizations. Some of her performance credits include Governess from Britten s Turn of the Screw, soprano soloist in Bach s Magnificat under the baton of Helmut Rilling, Lucinda from Sondheim s Into the Woods, and soprano soloist in Mozart s Coronation Mass. Ms. Render is also 4/6

5 a certified K-12 Georgia music educator, who enjoys sharing her passion for music and life with children. She never ceases to find musical inspiration, whether it through teaching or performing. Baritone Revere Taylor* (Corporal) hails from Santa Fe, New Mexico. He holds a Bachelor of Music from New Mexico State University and a Certificate of Higher Education from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. At New Mexico State, he appeared as Belcore in L Elisir d amore, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Falke in Die Fledermaus, and Ben in The Telephone. In Scotland, he appeared in The Tales of Hoffmann and Scottish Opera s production of Prokofiev s The Love of Three Oranges. He is now a first-year Masters degree candidate at University of Northern Colorado. Tenor Jacob Thompson* (Corporal) is a second year Opera Fort Collins Apprentice Artist and student in Colorado State University s Master of Music in Vocal Performance program where he studies under Dr. Todd Queen. In 2010, he received his BM from the University of Northern Colorado, studying with Dr. Melissa Malde. He preforms regularly performs throughout Colorado s Front Range. With the UNC Summer European Opera Tour, he has also appeared on several stages in France, Germany, and Holland with Opera Classica d Europa. Past roles include Spoletta in Tosca, il Messagiero in Aida, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Arsamene in Handel s Serse, Frederick in Pirates of Penzance, and Le Dancaire in Carmen, Ste in Sweeny Todd, Page in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Peter Quint in Turn of the Screw. He was seen most recently as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, with Opera Orvieto in Italy and Borsa in Rigoletto with Opera Classica d Europa in Lindefels, Germany. Mr. Thompson is the recipient of a Denver Lyric Opera Scholarship, the Joe Tennyson Family Scholarship, and the 2010 Angie Southard Award for Excellence in Music, the Dante Alighieri Society of Denver. He has also placed at regional and district NATS competitions in both classical and musical theater divisions. * Opera Fort Collins Apprentice Artists 5/6

6 Opera Fort Collins Mission To educate, enlighten, inform, and entertain through the professional regional presentation of operas, opera scenes, and other performing arts events, educational and community engagement programs, and performing arts-related social events to all socioeconomic and age categories, as well as to promote the development of talent in all aspects of production of the operatic art form. Now beginning Season 33, OFC is a non-profit performing arts organization. Season 33 graphics and photos available by request. Opera Fort Collins Contacts Artistic Director Brian Clay Luedloff luedloff@operafortcollins.org Music Director Wes Kenney batons2@earthlink.net Chorus Master /Outreach Director Dr. Gerald Holbrook mawaka@aol.com Executive Director Vicki Fogel Mykles mykles@operafortcollins.org Technical Director Roger Sherman roger.sherman@unco.edu OFC President Christy Bray Ricks cr5@pvhs.org # # # # Post Office Box 503. Fort Collins. CO /6